Arizona’s Senate has passed a plan to manage rural groundwater, but final success is uncertain

PHOENIX — A plan to manage rural groundwater passed Arizona’s Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday amid growing concerns about the availability of sufficient water for future generations in the arid Southwestern state. “This legislation leaves rural Arizonans without a real solution for how their groundwater is managed,” Hobbs’ spokesperson Christian Slater said Thursday. “Governor Hobbs is dedicated to continued work with stakeholders and legislators, including Senator Kerr, to find a better way forward that truly gives rural Arizonans a say in how their groundwater is managed and provides a sustainable and secure water future for generations to come.” The proposed legislation would mark a significant update to Arizona’s 1980 Groundwater Management Act overseeing groundwater use. While it left groundwater in rural areas largely unregulated, the current proposal led by Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr would allow people to initiate, form, and manage additional groundwater basins to keep an eye on rural groundwater pumping and cap new pumping in the case of an accelerated drop in water levels.